The St. Mary's Way
St. Mary's College of Maryland lies in a setting of natural beauty and historic meaning which enhances our ability to reflect on our lives in an increasingly complex, technological, and interdependent world. As a member of St. Mary's College of Maryland, I accept the St. Mary's Way and agree to join in working with others to develop this College as a community:
- Where people respect the natural environment and the tradition of tolerance which is the heritage of this place
- Where people cultivate a life-long quest for disciplined learning and creativity
- Where people take individual responsibility for their work and actions
- Where people foster relationships based upon mutual respect, honesty, integrity, and trust
- Where people are engaged in an ongoing dialogue that values differences and the unique contributions of others' talents, backgrounds, customs, and world views
- Where people are committed to examining and shaping the functional, ethical values of our changing world
- Where people contribute to a spirit of caring and an ethic of service.
By choosing to join this community, I accept the responsibility of helping to build on its past heritage, of living its ideals, and contributing to its future.
Welcome to St. Mary's!
Dean's Annual Challenge to the St. Mary's Community
Each year since she joined SMCM in 2007, Laura Bayless, the Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, issues a challenge to the St. Mary's College students, faculty and staff during the opening events of the academic year. Below you will find the last four. Check out these challenges. Live them. And let Laura know what you are doing and what you are learning from it. She will share her journey with you, too.
2011
This summer as I was reading our 2011 common read, “A Human Being Died that Night”, the hope and compassion evident on every page were incredibly powerful. We can learn a lot about how to create community at St. Mary’s College from these pages. The conversations between Eugene de Kock and Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela showed human beings dealing honestly and caringly with each other while at the same time discussing the most difficult, emotionally charged subjects. Who would predict that a black person from South Africa would be able to listen to, empathize with, and find compassion for a white person from South Africa, especially one who was a visible and famed instrument of apartheid? And that de Kock would be able to show humbleness, regret, and empathy to Pumla after such a life path? It turns out that in their remarkable journey together, they each brought their most genuine selves. And they were both transformed for the better for having had that interaction.
My wish is that we, each of us in the St. Mary’s community, bring that same genuineness and openness to each interaction we have here. On Sunday, you will receive a copy of “The St. Mary’s Way.” This is a short statement of values we hold dear, ones that underpin the way we interact with our shared world. Take a few moments to read them on Sunday. Go back to them over the course of the semester. Hang it from your wall as a reminder of the special place you are now a part of.
Individually and collectively, we will experience triumphs and challenges. We will face conflict and we will join together. In each situation, please bring your most genuine and open self. Be willing to listen as well as share your perspective. Get out of your comfort zone to try new things in and out of the classroom. One way to start this is to take the Substance Free Orientation seriously. As you saw from the email from President Urgo, St. Mary’s College is intentionally structuring the beginning of the school year so that we meet each other without the lens of alcohol and other drugs. This will allow us to begin our time together with our most genuine selves.
Look for me out on campus, at events, just listening to and talking with students. Come visit me in Campus Center 143. As our paths cross, I would love to hear about your transition to St. Mary’s. Take a moment and share your challenges and triumphs with me!
2010
I have the honor of introducing the first formal gathering of your academic career: Opening Convocation. To introduce this momentous occasion, I give you a little food for thought. You may remember that yesterday at the Dean’s Welcome, I challenged each of you to get out of your comfort zone at least once in the first month of school. I challenge the SMCM community to commit to doing one thing within the first month of class that makes you uncomfortable. Choose a topic for a paper in a class that you don't know very much about. Attend a lecture or program whose title doesn't draw you to it. Go to a sporting event that you wouldn't naturally go to. See a concert or theater performance. Volunteer for a service project. Attend a club meeting for an organization you know nothing about. The opportunities are endless. I am interested in what you choose. When you see me on campus, take a minute to let me know what you did and how it went. I'll do the same.
College is an adventure. With the spirit of Huck Finn, I encourage you to embark on this adventure with enthusiasm. All adventures have many elements – first, something has to happen. You’ve got to have triumphs, challenges, and conflict. You’ve got to have something wild, something fun, and something unexpected. You’ve got to have excitement, nervousness, and anticipation. Your adventure is just beginning.
Mark Twain has a very appropriate quote:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Twain’s words provide us with the inspiration we need for this beginning. Embrace the spirit of adventure – it is a way of life. It is the responsible acceptance of risk. And the Hunt is Over - your adventure is waiting for you to jump in with both feet.
2009
I challenge the SMCM community to live our lives sustainably while taking advantage of all the opportunities St. Mary's College has to offer. The most visible aspect of sustainability is, of course, environmental. Our common read, Elizabeth Kohlbert's Fieldnotes from a Catastrophe illustrates the impacts of global warming. Reducing the conditions that create global warming is certainly an important aspect of sustainability.
But, at its most basic, the concept of sustainability is the ability to provide for the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Considered this way, sustainability must include other elements in addition to the environment. Many consider true sustainability as having three equally important elements: environmentally healthy, socially responsible, and economically strong. I challenge each of you to live your life sustainably while taking advantage of all the opportunities at St. Mary's.
There are six ways I'd like to suggest you consider:
1) Care for our place physically and environmentally:
- Walk across campus instead of driving.
- Church Point - use this lovely piece of Trinity Church's property for your own recreational and social experiences. Just be sure to clean up after yourself!
2) Learn, and sustain it to become a lifelong learner
3) Seek out discomfort that will expand your world view, develop empathy, and enhance learning
4) Create sustainable relationships:
- Foster relationships based on mutual respect, honesty, integrity, and trust
- Seek out those who are different from you, and treat others with respect for both their similarities and their differences
- Live the values of social responsibility and civic mindedness, thinking of others in addition to yourself, improving the community where you can, and asking for help when you need it
- Value and recognize the contributions of each member of our community, whether it be students, faculty, staff, alumni, or guests
5) Decide to use your resources (time, money, expertise) in ways that enhance your own life with an eye to the future rather than simply the present
6) Become a change-agent to help us move toward being environmentally healthy, socially responsible, and economically strong
Incorporating a philosophy of living sustainably to enhance the world's, the community's, and our own healthy environment, social responsibility, and strong economics will position us well for the future. I'm serious about the challenge. Please take some time to tell me about your experience and what you have learned. I'll be happy to share my sustainability journey with you, too.
2008
I challenge the SMCM community to take advantage of the diversity you will find here. College is all about learning new things and examining options we never thought existed. It's about seeking out those experiences, beliefs, and perspectives are that different from our own. It's about engaging in real and meaningful ways with people who are visibly and invisibly different than we are. Excellence in a liberal arts education like the one you will earn at St. Mary's is improved and enriched by the existence of a multicultural environment. A tremendous part of the learning process is not just what is available, but also who is available. You have found a campus with a healthy mix of cultures, communities, and ideologies. I challenge you to take advantage of the diversity of our learning environment. That means taking classes you think don't interest you. It means walking across the hall to talk with someone you think you have nothing in common with. It means stopping to consider what might be going on for a person who is frustrating you - is the conflict created because you have different assumptions about the world? Ask them - you just might learn something and be able to teach them something too. It means examining your own assumptions about the world, the way things "should be," your preferred methods of communication. Do you value analysis or synthesis? Do you emphasize the individual or the group? College is an excellent time and place to explore these often uncomfortable ideas and situations. It is the perfect time to break out of what we "know" and move into what might be. Seek out discomfort. Wallow in what makes your psyche "itch." These are the years to stretch and grow... I'm serious about the challenge - make yourself take advantage of the diverse people and opportunities you will find here. And take some time to tell me about your experience and what you have learned. I'll be happy to share what I'm learning with you, too.
Laura A. Bayless, PhD
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
